I offered an opinion on the topic, but you didn't like it much. And
that is, even if you are qualified technically, which I accept, you
can't make a snap judgement that "the entire problem could have been
avoided if the FCC had proper
engineering people who had chosen / demanded higher transmitter power
and
transmitting antenna type and site choices. "
As I asked before, what tests did you conduct, data did you collect,
cost/benefit analysis, transmitter site selection realities in the
real world, etc. did you go through before coming to your
conclusion? Did you look at what the FCC looked at? If not, then
how can you make this judgement?
It would seem that as an engineer with management experience, you
would realize that there is a process you have to go through to review
all the pertinent data, issues, cost/benefits, etc instead of making a
snap judgement. I think the FCC and the broadcasters did go through
that process.

-- re: Real men don't text.
-
-- OMG UKTR C&G G2G B4N
-
- Translation?
Oh My God! You know that's right. Chuckles and Grins. Got to go. Bye
for now.
http://www.hendrixsite.com/acronyms.htm
FWIW, now that we have a family texting plan, I'm in contact with my
kids more than ever. Often, in the middle of the day, I'll get things
like:
- Got an A on the math test. Thanks for your help
- Practice cancelled
- I'm bored
- Hi!
- What was that song we heard last night?
- I've got a ride home. C U later.
Short quick bursts of conversations, sometimes 5 - 6 times a day.
Things that aren't worth a long conversation, but can always be
followed up with a phone call if needed.
Ever tried to carry on a cell phone conversation with someone at a
Varsity basketball game? A text conversation is a piece of cake -
especially when your kid is sitting on the other side of the raucus
gym. "How are you getting home?" "With you!" "I'll meet you out
front." "K"

Oddly enough I find that I get the best reception with rabbit ears and
bow ties. I've tried several fancier antennas and they've all been
worthless junk. I think the only thing that would likely give an
improvement, from what I've read, is either a) a homemade bow tie
array (I may try this) b) either a "silver sensor" or Winegard SS-3000
type antenna or c) a proper roof or attic mounted antenna.
It seems that there is a LOT of junk on the market at the moment, and
if someone buys a new "amplified antenna" and then finds that they
only get one channel, they may bitch and moan about how crappy DTV is
but they may find that if they just try an old bowtie they get 20+
channels. I know that that's been my experience, I've returned
several medium-priced antennas because they didn't work any better
than a piece of wire jammed in the F-connector on the back of the box.
nate

Discovered something annoying last night... was watching the playoff
game (go stillers) and decided to watch it OTA rather than off cable
so I could see it in widescreen (well, letterboxed, but whatever) I am
using a Channel Master CM7000 tuner box with aforementioned wabbit
ears and bowtie. Every couple minutes the audio would drop out for a
second or so then come back in, sometimes with some pixellation
sometimes not. I thought it might be a problem with the station's sat
feed because I have not noticed this on any other channels that I
watch. But the same thing happened with the news this AM as I left it
on Channel 9 (WUSA) rather than one of the other channels. Now I
never watch Channel 9, so I have not noticed this before, but it
doesn't appear to be a problem with my setup as I can leave the "info"
menu on the screen and see that the signal strength remains pegged at
100% while it drops out. Also ran a long piece of coax up the stairs
just to see if it was antenna position but with the antenna upstairs
it still does this. Have not seen this with any other channels... if
this is going to be permanent this kinda puts a damper on my TV
watching experience, and I may just keep my cable and not install a
roof mounted antenna like I'd originally planned. Based on the
coverage maps I'm just outside the "red" zone for WUSA so this should
not be a problem at all.
nate

Discovered something annoying last night... was watching the playoff
game (go stillers) and decided to watch it OTA rather than off cable
so I could see it in widescreen (well, letterboxed, but whatever) I am
using a Channel Master CM7000 tuner box with aforementioned wabbit
ears and bowtie. Every couple minutes the audio would drop out for a
second or so then come back in, sometimes with some pixellation
sometimes not. I thought it might be a problem with the station's sat
feed because I have not noticed this on any other channels that I
watch. But the same thing happened with the news this AM as I left it
on Channel 9 (WUSA) rather than one of the other channels. Now I
never watch Channel 9, so I have not noticed this before, but it
doesn't appear to be a problem with my setup as I can leave the "info"
menu on the screen and see that the signal strength remains pegged at
100% while it drops out. Also ran a long piece of coax up the stairs
just to see if it was antenna position but with the antenna upstairs
it still does this. Have not seen this with any other channels... if
this is going to be permanent this kinda puts a damper on my TV
watching experience, and I may just keep my cable and not install a
roof mounted antenna like I'd originally planned. Based on the
coverage maps I'm just outside the "red" zone for WUSA so this should
not be a problem at all.
nate
Nate,
"Multipath cancellation" can wreak havoc with digital signals, loosely
analogous to "ghosts" which can show up on analog signals. The problem
arises from the temporary or permanent bounce of the transmitted signal on
some reflector between you and the transmitter. This bounced signal arrives
slightly later, via a different path from the direct signal. The result at
your antenna is a cancellation or smearing of digital data.
Overhead aircraft can cause the problem. Fluttering tree limbs are also
often the culprit. One problem I ultimately found was a large nearby traffic
sign blowing in the wind which caused my relative to have drop-outs on windy
days. Signal strengths can be very high but this effect will still show up.
The modulation system used for over-the-air digital TV has some built-in
immunity, using redundant bits, forward error correction, and other methods,
but it is far from being perfect.
Cable companies will normally site their receiving antennas at very high
locations to ensure line of sight reception with little or no multipath
degradation. Highly directional antennas can also help, but introduce their
own new issues related to proper pointing.
A brief description of how multipath is measurable with a Sencore test
device is at:
http://www.sencore.com/uploads/files/AchieveGoodHDTV.pdf
Smarty

gee I saw this last nite in pittsburgh but wasnt watching the game.
signal strength bounces a lot over time, apparently on all channels I
was watching RTN one of channel 11s feeds
Its the super bowl bottom of the 4 quarter its a long pass, its going
going
(blank screen) the fans are going wild here! it was the pass of a
century, the final score (blank screen)
my normal signal strength is excellent on the channel blanking out

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